Staying Insured While Moving Homes

If you are in the process of a big move, you already know that there’s so much to be done during this time. During a move, your home insurance coverage is likely to be one of the last things on your mind – but you should always review your coverage or call up your provider to ensure that you have coverage during this stressful period. Why? Well, because maintaining coverage for your home’s contents even during a period of transition is commonplace, even if it’s not a legally required policy component. If you are one of the few policyholders who do not have coverage for your belongings in transit, and something happens, you could be out several thousand dollars. On top of the stress you’re already dealing with, now you must handle the ramifications of losing all your home’s contents.

Here is what you need to know about your belongings and your home insurance while moving.

Double-check.

This goes with anything that might be a grey area for your home insurance policy – double-check. Not sure if your home insurance includes coverage for your belongings while in-transit during a move? It’s a good idea to check your coverage to see what it covers. You can even call up your home insurance provider or your broker to chat about the details of your coverage, as they can lay it out for you in finer detail. Note that “standard” home insurance looks different depending on yourself and the home insurance company you’re with, so just because your neighbours’ belongings were covered in-transit when they moved homes doesn’t mean yours will be too. It’s a good idea to check with your provider before your moving day rather than experience a disaster and discover too late that you don’t have sufficient coverage to make up for the loss.

Is my new residence covered?

You’ve made it through moving day – congrats! Now you’re in a new home, slowly unpacking all your things and getting settled. What about insurance? It is critical that you notify your broker prior to the moving day. Some insurance companies provide automatic coverage for both residences for 30 days. But this is not all companies, so you should call your insurance provider to notify them that you’re moving regardless – and you should give them one to two months warning in advance. If you are transitioning the contents of your former residence over to your new one gradually, ensure that you have coverage in both locations by contacting your provider. They may need to modify your policy temporarily to ensure that you have sufficient coverage during this period of change.

If you are changing provinces or even countries, you’ll need to ensure that your provider offers service in your new location. If not, you’ll have to go through the process of finding a new provider.

If you are DIY-ing your move…

If you have decided to move all your belongings by yourself and are not hiring a company to do it for you, there are still some things you’ll need to do beforehand to ensure you have full coverage if an accident does occur. You may need to rent a moving vehicle, which can mean you’ll have to purchase insurance either from the rental company or purchase an endorsement to add to your existing auto insurance policy. In most locations, this is known as OPCF 27 endorsement  – i.e, coverage for borrowed or rented vehicles. You may choose the deductible, but you should ensure that the full value of the moving vehicle you are renting is reflected in your coverage. Sounds silly to say, but the registered weight of the vehicle you are renting is important as well.  A rented panel van can be covered by your auto policy, but not a vehicle as heavy as that 24-foot U-Haul truck you had your eye on.

You should also ensure that you have sufficient coverage if one of the friends you’ve enlisted to help you move hurts themselves while carrying boxes out to your rental vehicle. The same goes for if any of your property is damaged by accident while moving it over. All-risks insurance is generally more likely to cover specific instances such as these, but a named perils coverage policy may exclude them. Be sure to discuss with your insurer or refer to your insurance policy to see what coverage you have.

Hiring a moving company.

It can be a lot simpler to hire a moving company than to organize all your friends and rent out a truck. Ensure that you do your due diligence and screen every prospect company, respectively, choosing only the best one with good ratings and references. The company you hire may have their own insurance, but the exact details of every policy can vary. You’ll want to know that, if the company utilizes subcontractors, there is sufficient certification and licensing. Some movers will have coverage that protects your belongings from damages, but some will exempt coverage for anything that you have packed by yourself. You can request a copy of your moving company’s insurance policy to review what is insured and what isn’t.

If you have any belongings in storage to prepare them for the transition over to your new residence, you may have to purchase an insurance endorsement that covers stored goods. Replacement value protection and released liability protection are two options – the former covering the full cost to replace missing or damaged items and the latter covering compensation for lost or damaged belongings.

To make a long answer short, you may have coverage for your belongings in-transit during a move. However, you’ll still want to contact your insurance provider to inform them of the move and find out what coverage you have under your current policy. If alterations need to be made, your insurance broker can give you the exact details of what needs to be done.